I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to shoot your son or daughter. Having to take a gun and point it and your progeny - your flesh and blood - just boggles my mind. But the NORTH COUNTY TIMES says that’s exactly what Oceanside police captain Reggie Grigsby Sr.had to do over the weekend when his son, former San Diego State starting safety Reggie Grigsby Jr., attacked his mother.

The younger Grigsby apparently got into a verbal altercation with his mother Desirah that quickly turned appalingly violent, with Reggie Jr. beating and choking to the point that she lost consciousness and had her nose broken. A police spokesman said that Capt. Grigsby tried to pull his son off of Desirah, but when he couldn’t he was forced to retrieve his non-police issued handgun and shoot his son.

Police also say that Grigsby Jr. has “a history of mental troubles,”which came as news to administrators at the Army Navy Academy (a private military boarding school in Carlsbad), where he is not only an assistant football coach but also supervises dorm rooms. He was also a criminal justice major in college who once had this to say to the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE about his relationship with his father:

“He’s always been pretty strict, but he keeps me realistic,” Reggie Grigsby Jr. said. “He doesn’t let me get too big-headed. I don’t want to become big-headed. I don’t want to come across as an arrogant guy. I just want to be a normal guy like everyone else.”

So apparently keeping “realistic” means “shooting me when I attack my mom.” He’s now been arrested and taken to jail for the assault after spending the weekend recovering from his injuries. Meanwhile, his father has been placed on paid leave as the department investigates the shooting.